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iPowow and Red Bull Media House partner to bring Participatory TV and interactive engagement across screens for live sports.

Red Bull Media House has been a valuable partner. Their vision for how to engage their fans and enhance the experience for the viewer has been revolutionary.

Los Angeles, California (PRWEB)March 18, 2014

As one of the most followed sports worldwide, soccer has the ability to set trends and inspire new benchmarks in sport technology and experiences – such as the innovative broadcast resulting from a new partnership between iPowow, the leaders in Participation TV, and Red Bull Media House. Their live airing of the high-profile FC Bayern München vs FC Red Bull Salzburg match in January 2014 was the world’s first soccer telecast utilizing fan participation. The match aired via Red Bull Media House’s ServusTV, where fans were given the power to control on-screen elements from their digital devices and see the detailed results of these interactions as they occurred live on TV.

The partnership of Red Bull Media House and iPowow set a new precedent for the future of sports and television engagement. For the broadcast, iPowow provided a complete and seamless solution between digital devices and the big screen, where fans ingrained themselves in the story and enhanced their experience with the game and their team. Soccer fans were encouraged to explore their views and sentiments during the live airing of the game. And they were prompted to engage on their connected smart devices or computers via simple calls to action directing them to participate, interact and respond to questions and events happening around the game-play and players. The results of the interactions were displayed on a second-by-second basis within the broadcast through stunning graphical imagery rendered directly on the TV screen, and also on the user device, in real time. The results displayed on TV and the user device were synchronous, reflecting the exact audience sentiments as they unfolded live.

Since the January soccer broadcast, Red Bull Media House and iPowow have expanded their collaboration to ice hockey, as DEL (German hockey League) games broadcast live on ServusTV and powered by the iPowow Participation TV platform now also enable real-time audience interaction. For the first time in Europe and from March 9 on, fans can choose the “Man of the Match” for the Sunday game of the week, and – for the first time anywhere – viewers can vote live to determine the game that will be broadcast the following week. The speed and agility of the platform, branded as Sound2go.net, allows the show producer to capitalize on the action and audience response throughout the game – a broadcast enhancement, brand enhancement and revenue generator that engages the fans in the live experience and keeps them engaged because they are invested in the result.

Gavin Douglas, Chief Commercial Officer of iPowow, stated, “Red Bull Media House has been a valuable partner. Their vision for how to engage their fans and enhance the experience for the viewer has been revolutionary. The key to a successful execution relies on how well you can include the fan in the story and enhance the viewing experience. Our partner does just that with first the soccer match and now the DEL playoffs from March 9 on – giving fans a chance to be a part of the story throughout the entire experience."

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About iPowow:
iPowow is an interactive media company, based in Santa Monica, on the leading edge of the global shift towards Participation Television. iPowow gives TV producers and Advertisers the power to create a new breed of Participation TV with compelling engagement for the viewer. On the second screen, iPowow clients are achieving TV viewer engagement levels of 15%, against an industry average of 1%. As the specialists in Participation TV, iPowow's clients include ESPN, Fox Sports, A&E, Comcast and USA Network. For more information http://www.ipowow.com.

About Red Bull Media House:
A global media company, Red Bull Media House produces, publishes, distributes and licenses high-quality sport, entertainment and educational programming from the areas of Sport & Lifestyle, Nature & Science and Tradition & Inspiration. Its product portfolio includes sport and lifestyle programming, documentaries, feature films, music, games and mobile apps, as well as print and online magazines, that fascinate and inspire audiences all over the world – through all media channels and on all types of devices. http://www.redbullmediahouse.com

The company’s centralized media hub, the Red Bull Content Pool, provides access to high-resolution imagery and HD moving images for editorial use, as well as licensable content in the Premium section. http://www.redbullcontentpool.com

About Servus TV:
ServusTV is a broadcasting unit of the Red Bull Media House that features high HD production values and focuses on values like tradition, love of life, and authenticity. Programming highlights include cultural features, entertainment, documentaries, sports and Red Bull TV content. ServusTV provides superior entertainment for a demanding audience in Austria, Germany and Switzerland.